It can be done, and that is the problem…

An electronic contact lens (prototype) providing with a display directly on the eye. Credit: Google

At IEEE FDC the Symbiotic Autonomous Systems Initiative, SAS, is studying the interplay (symbioses) of machines and humans. There is a lot of technology involved but the real issues are not technological ones. Yes, there are plenty of technology hurdles but just wait a few more years (may be just months) and they will be overcome.

The real issues are more on the social and ethical side. And the problem is that there is plenty of greys, very little is black or white!

Take a soft human augmentation (not the hard one that can result from genome tweaking).

There are a number of prototype contact lenses that one can wear and become connected to the web. Yes, today it is not plain sailing, there are issues with powering in a seamless way, in resolution, in comfort etc. etc. but these will be solved (pretty soon I bet).
Let’s just consider the functionality. Wearing such a contact lens you would be able to see information that other people around you will not perceive (nor will they perceive that you are seeing that information).

These contact lenses are being developed to help people with visual deficit and it makes a lot of sense. No issues there. But they can also be adopted by people having a perfect sight in search for “augmentation”.

A hidden camera may look at the person you have in front of you and an image recognition system, somewhere in the cloud, may retrieve information about that person and relate that to you. A microphone (it could be the one in your phone) may relay the voice of that person to applications to check the correctness of what they are telling you, as well as the emotional level with hints on the stress he is experiencing and probably reading his real intentions “between the lines”. Would this give you an unfair advantage in the business conversation you are having? Of course it will!

Is this fair? May be it is. Why should it be wrong to check the truthfulness of what that person is telling you? On the other hand there is a clear unbalance between you, an augmented human, and your “plain” counterpart.

Having augmented capability can make a call center operator much more efficient. As he is answering the call a program will detect the audio signature of the caller and provide immediate information through the lens to his brain (this is not in principle different from providing that same information on the display of his desktop computer although it might be more efficient). Would the employer demand her employees to wear these contact lenses? Would they be able to opt out?

What about your spouse wearing these contact lenses and being able to read you … between the lines, a homebound big brother.  Our whole social relations are kept on a fine balance between being who you are and showing the part of you that is appropriate in that specific context. Augmentation such as the one created by these lenses (and the software behind them) may break havoc in our social environment.

These aspects, and more, are hinted in the published SAS white paper. We are now working on education material to socialise them and to involve more people into discussing the new worlds just around the corner.

About Roberto Saracco

Roberto Saracco fell in love with technology and its implications long time ago. His background is in math and computer science. Until April 2017 he led the EIT Digital Italian Node and then was head of the Industrial Doctoral School of EIT Digital up to September 2018. Previously, up to December 2011 he was the Director of the Telecom Italia Future Centre in Venice, looking at the interplay of technology evolution, economics and society. At the turn of the century he led a World Bank-Infodev project to stimulate entrepreneurship in Latin America. He is a senior member of IEEE where he leads the New Initiative Committee and co-chairs the Digital Reality Initiative. He is a member of the IEEE in 2050 Ad Hoc Committee. He teaches a Master course on Technology Forecasting and Market impact at the University of Trento. He has published over 100 papers in journals and magazines and 14 books.